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(No Model.)

P. A. SHOEMAKER.

BELT SHIFTER.

No. 371,480. Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

Fig.1.

27 in/n14 UNITED STATES PATENT BELT-SHIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,480, dated October11, 1887.

Application filed July 1, 1887.

To aZZ whom, it 77mg concern.-

Be it known thatl, FRANK A. SrtoEuAKER, of the city of Buffalo, in thecounty of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Belt-Shifters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in belt-shifters, and has forits object to construct a simple device of this kind, whereby the beltcan be readily and conveniently shifted and secured in position,and inwhich the operative parts are arranged overhead, where they are notliable to he accidentally displaced or to interfere with the freemovements of the work men.

My invention consists of the improvement, which will be hereinafterfully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a front elevation ofmy improved belt-shifter. Fig. 2 represents a vertical crosssection inline x 00, Fig. 1, partly in elevation. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary frontelevation of the shifter, showing the parts in a position opposite tothat shownin Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is avertical section in liney y, Fig. 2.Fig. 5 is ahorizontal section in lineyy, Fig. 1.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A A represent a tight and a loose pulley mounted side by side upon ahorizontal shaft, (0, and B is the belt applied to said pulleys.

0 represents thehorizontal shifter-bar, which is supported by dependingbearings or hang ers D,secured to the ceiling or other support; and c isthe shifter-fork, secured to the bar 0 and bearing against oppositeedges of the belt in a well-known manner.

E represents a shifting-plate which is pivoted to the front side ofavertical supportingbar, 0, by a pin or stud, e, and connected at itslower'end to the shifter-bar O by a connecting-rod,f, so that byswinging the plate E on its pivot the shifter-bar will be movedlongitudinally to shift the belt from one pulley to the other. The plateE is provided with cams or inclines g g, which extend upwardly from thelower end of the plate to a point about in line with thepivot e.

h h represent stops or projections formed on the plate E at the upperends of the inclines g g.

I represents an upright frame or movable support which slides uponthevertical supporting bar or rod 6, and is provided at its up per andlower ends with lugs or ears i 2', formed with square openings, throughwhich the vertical bar e passes.

t represents a rope or cord attached to the upper end of the support Iand passing over a pulley, J, arranged above the support I, the lowerend of the rope terminating within convenient reach of the operator, sothat the support can be raised and lowered on the bar a by means of saidcord.

K represents a shifting dog or pawl pivoted to the lower ears of themovable support Land provided at its lower end with a weight, k, whichretains the pawl in a vertical position. The pawl K is provided at itsupper end with a forwardly-projecting pin or stud, Z, which is adaptedto bear against either of the cams or inclines g g.

m'represents a projection formed on the up per end of the support I andadapted to engage in one oftwo notches or recesses, n a, formed in theupper portion of the plate E, which is curved concentric with the pivotofsaid plate. The latter is provided on its rear side with pins or stops0 0, which strike against opposite sides of the supporting-bar eandlimit the swinging movement of the plate E. The stops 0 0 arrest themovement of the plate E and shifting-bar at the extreme of either movement.

If preferred, the stops 0 0' on the plate E may be omitted, and theshifter-rod 0 may be provided with collars which strike against theinner sides of the hangers D and limit the movement of the shifter-bar,as represented in Fig. 1.

Assuming that the parts are in the position represented in Fig. 1, uponraising the support I by means of the rope the horizontal pin Z of thepawl K rides up on the inclineg and strikes the stop It at the upper endof saidincline. The continued upward movement of the support I causesthe pawl K to swing on the plate E on its pivot in the direction of thearrow in Fig. 1 until the plate reaches the position represented in Fig.3, thereby moving the shifterbar 0 to the position represented in Fig. 3and shifting the belt B from the pulleyA to the pulley A. When thebelthas been shifted,the

support I is allowed to descend and rest upon the upper end of theplateE,in which position of the support the projection m enters thenotch nand secures the plate and the parts connected therewith in thisposition. When the support I is in its lowest position, as representedin Fig. 1, the pawl clears the plate E. The upper portion of the pawl Kis bent inwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to enable the same to passbehind the plate E when the support I is raised. The incline or cam g ofthe plateE now stands above the pawl K, and upon raising the support Ithe pin Z of the pawl engages against the incline g and stop h andcauses the plate to swing into the position represented in Fig. 1,thereby moving the bar 0 in the opposite direction and shifting the beltback upon the pulley A.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, witha shifter-bar, of ashifting-plate connected therewith, and a shifting pawl attached to amovable support, whereby the shiftingplate is moved in oppositedirections, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a shifter-bar, of a shifting-plateconnectedtherewith, a shiftingpawl attached to a movable support,wherebythe shifting-plate is moved in opposite directions, and a projectionformed on the movable support and engaging with the shifting-plate,

whereby the shifting-plate isheld in position, substantially as setforth.

3. The combination, witha shifter-bar, of a shiftingplateconnectedtherewith and provided with locking-notches, a movable support providedwith a projection and adapted to'engage in either of said notches,andashifting-pawl attached to said movable support, substantially as setforth.

4:. The combination, with the shifter-bar O and the movable support I,of a pivoted plate,E, connected with the shifter-barCand provided withinclines g g and stops it h, and shiftingpawl K, pivoted to the supportI below the plate E and adapted to engage against the stops h h,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the shifter-bar G and the movable support I,provided with a projection, m, of a pivoted plate,E,connected with theshifter-bar O and provided with inclines g g, stops h h, and notches orrecesses n n,formed in the upper end of the plate E,in which theprojection ,m engages, and a shifting-pawl, K, pivoted to the lower endof the movable support I, substantially as set forth.

\Vitness my hand this th day of May, 1887.

FRANK A. SHOEMAKER.

Witnesses:

CARL F. GEYER, FRED. O. GEYER.

